Grasett Park

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Grasett Park

Opened in July 2021, Grasett Park celebrates the response of the City of Toronto, particularly its physicians, nurses and other caregivers, to the influx of Irish migrants during the summer of 1847. Many of these migrants arrived gravely afflicted with typhus, known then as ship fever.

 

Situated at the corner of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street (on the same plot of land as Toronto’s first purpose-built General Hospital), the park is named after Dr. George Robert Grasett, who was appointed as Medical Superintendent of the Hospital in June 1847 and who – along with fellow doctors, nurses, orderlies and other caregivers – died shortly thereafter from the same illness he sought to treat.

 

These courageous individuals played an important role in the medical history of the city.  At the time, Toronto’s population was roughly 20,000.  The arrival of 38,560 Irish migrants fleeing the Great Famine, including thousands who became sick during the perilous journey, quickly overwhelmed the Hospital’s capacity and resources. Temporary fever sheds were erected in the field behind the hospital, where Grasett Park now stands.

Opening & Dedication Ceremony – July 16, 2021

Grasett Park Design & Construction Team

Architecture & Design: Denegri Bessai Studio

 

Design Committee:

Connor Turnbull, Jonathan Kearns, John Kissick, Robert Kearns, William Peat

 

Historical Research: Laura Smith, PhD

 

Construction Management: Boszko & Verity Inc.

 

Structural Engineering: Entuitive

 

Mechanical and Electrical Engineering: Smith & Andersen

 

Collaborating Architect: David Lieberman 

 

Glass Structure & Installation: Explore 1

 

Metal and Stone Engraving: Accents of Distinction Stone

 

Granite Installation: Coivic Contracting

 

Lighting: Xbase Electrical

Land Acknowledgement

The Canada Ireland Foundation (CIF) operates and is situated on the traditional territory of Indigenous Nations who have cared for and stewarded this land for generations. CIF recognizes the ancestral lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples – alongside other Indigenous communities, including Inuit and Métis peoples who call Toronto home today. CIF acknowledges that Toronto lies within the lands covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties with multiple Mississauga and Chippewa Nations.

 

This territory is also part of the ‘Dish with One Spoon’ wampum, a treaty that predates colonial settlement and continues to be acknowledged by First Nations. The Dish With One Spoon Wampum is a covenant between Indigenous Nations in the Great Lakes region that expresses a way of sharing the land and its resources in peace.

 

CIF honours the relationships Indigenous peoples have with Mother Earth, and are committed to learning about local Indigenous cultures, heritages, and traditions. The Canada Ireland Foundation will continue our efforts to develop partnerships with Indigenous peoples based on mutual respect, trust, and friendship.